DirecTV never puts ads over the program, but TiVo has a marketing feature where advertisers can superimpose ads at specific points in a program. That's what LoadStar is showing.

No. Both the image that I quoted, and the image I posted, are the same thing - a pause ad. They only show up when the TiVo is paused. They've just recently changed the way they display. The version I quoted was an earlier format, and the one I posted (well, linked to from another user) is the current format.

In theory, TiVo may have the ability to superimpose ads over the programming, but I've never seen them do so (nor seen them talk about doing so). The closest I've seen them come is having them superimpose a still ad over the screen when you FF over that particular advertiser's commercial.

The only time a TiVo superimposes anything over "specific points" is when the "Thumbs up to record" shows up over certain participating network program ads.

I just found a show last night from the Discovery Bar. That I would have otherwise never seen. The Discovery bar has come in handy for me many times over the years. It's exposed me to content I otherwise would have probably never seen.

The ads on the Tivo have never bothered me at all as they've never impacted how I watch TV in any way. I don't care about pause ads because the screen is paused. If I want to see something on the screen when I pause then I'm going to hit clear anyway to remove the progress bar.

With that said, I can see ads in the guide being kind of annoying. Hopefully Tivo doesn't go that route.

They have a feature that can superimpose ads over video while FFing, but I don't think they've ever really used it outside of a few test cases. I do still occasionally see the "press thumbs up to recode" feature used on trailers for new shows, but those are pretty rare and not that intrusive.

I just found a show last night from the Discovery Bar. That I would have otherwise never seen. The Discovery bar has come in handy for me many times over the years. It's exposed me to content I otherwise would have probably never seen.

Likewise, it also alerts me to new offerings on Netflix and Hulu Plus.

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